David · Brady, a scientist who worked at top scientific institutions in the United States, should have been a genius that many companies were chasing. However, when he spent years of painstaking efforts to develop the world's first 100 million-level pixel array smart camera, he was met with indifferent rejection from the United States Defense Advanced Planning Bureau again and again. "Why not make something that costs less and has a slightly lower pixel?" — the only response he received when he repeatedly applied for funding.
Unwilling, Brady turned his gaze to the far east. Kunshan, China, a city with a strong manufacturing base, is becoming a new starting point for his dream. What made United States miss this genius while China became fertile ground for his dreams?
The starting point of a visual revolution
In 2008, in a lab at Northwestern University in Illinois, a group of scientists were busy around a novel piece of equipment. This device, very different from traditional flat cameras, features a unique eye-shaped curved design that mimics the curvature of the human eyeball. Inspired by the natural way the human eye focuses on light, the ability to achieve the same sharpness at the edges as the center of the frame was a breakthrough in digital photography at the time.
In the laboratory, scientists have carried out a series of tests on this curved sensor through sophisticated equipment and several commissionings. Each test is designed to verify the efficiency of the curved sensor in capturing light and its ability to reproduce the details of the image. Whereas the planar sensors of conventional cameras often suffer from distortion when capturing edge images, the sensors of the new cameras avoid this problem by having a unique physical structure that allows the light to be evenly distributed across the entire sensor.
For the scene shooting test, the scientists chose a variety of environmental settings, from delicate objects indoors to expansive landscapes outdoors, with each shutter press keeping a close eye on the edge sharpness of the image. The results were exciting, with both distant treetops and text details being clearly captured and presented, confirming the effectiveness of the surface design.
In addition, the scientists compared the performance of the curved camera with that of a conventional planar sensor camera in the same environment. They put the printed photos together and compared the center and edges of each photo in detail. Curved cameras outperform conventional cameras in terms of visual coherence and detail, especially in complex lighting or contrasting environments.
David · Brady's challenge and persistence
Davy · Brady pacing back and forth in his lab, confronted with a series of design drawings and prototypes, he was in the critical stages of finding funding for the eye-shaped camera. The Defense Advanced Planning Agency (DARPA) of the United States has taken his project with reservations and has repeatedly rejected his funding requests.
At one meeting, an official from the Defense Agency asked bluntly: "Why can't we design something with relatively low pixels and a relatively reasonable cost?" Despite this skepticism, Brady did not give up on his curved photography technique, which he believes has the potential to disrupt traditional photography and bring about a wider range of applications.
Lacking sufficient support at home, Brady began to consider the possibility of international cooperation. He searches the network for potential partners and investors, especially those companies and capital interested in high-tech. Brady's mailbox was filled with inquiries from all over the world, and he replied one by one, detailing the technical details and market potential of the project. He has also prepared a series of technical demonstration videos and data reports to show the benefits of the eye curve camera more visually.
Moved to Kunshan, China
After many investigations and exchanges, Brady finally decided to bring his innovative project to Kunshan, China. Kunshan, a small city known for its manufacturing industry, has a strong technical accumulation and a well-established industrial chain, especially in the field of digital product manufacturing and cameras, which provided an ideal soil for Brady's curved camera project.
In 2012, Brady officially established Ancodi Technology Co., Ltd. in Kunshan, which mainly focuses on the research and development and practical application of holographic photography, digital cameras, virtual reality light imaging systems and snapshot X-ray tomography technology.
In the early days of its establishment, Brady realized that while it had strong capabilities in technology development, it needed a trusted partner to develop the Chinese market and run the company. At this time, Wang Huidong entered Brady's field of vision.
Wang Huidong also used years of business experience to advance Brady's project from the laboratory stage to the practical level. He is well aware of the potential of the Chinese market and has a clear commercialization pathway. With his extensive local network, Wang Huidong quickly connected Ancody with supply chain partners covering all aspects of camera lens manufacturing to optical component production, providing comprehensive support for the company's project implementation.
With the combination of Brady's technology and Wang Huidong's business acumen, Ancody's technology development work has advanced rapidly. Under the leadership of Wang Huidong, the company's R&D team began to adjust and optimize for the needs of the Chinese market. Although Brady's curved camera technology has gained some popularity in the West, Wang Huidong is keenly aware that Ancody needs to make its products more localized to meet the special needs of the Chinese market. For example, in the field of security, there is an increasing demand for high-definition cameras, especially in the fields of urban surveillance, traffic management and smart buildings.
Ancody began to focus on the development of high-pixel camera products suitable for the Chinese security market. In order to achieve this goal, Brady and Wang Huidong jointly led the team, from the design of the optical sensor to the construction of the production line, every link was strictly controlled.
At the same time, Wang Huidong is also actively exploring the market, and through his network, he has established cooperative relations with a number of large Chinese technology companies and government departments to promote the application of Ancodi's technology in the field of security. Especially after 2012, with the acceleration of China's urbanization process, the demand for urban security and intelligent surveillance systems has increased rapidly, and Ancodi's high-performance camera products have gradually emerged in these markets.
The blessing of capital and technological breakthroughs
In 2018, under the promotion of Wang Huidong, Ankedi Technology ushered in an important turning point. After months of intense preparation and countless business negotiations, Ankedi finally won the favor of many well-known investors, including Chuanghehui Capital, Zhongke Chuangxing, Shenzhen Guoyi and so on. After several rounds of meetings and technology presentations, these investors became intrigued by the potential of Ancodi's technology and future market performance. In particular, Brady's high-pixel, curved sensing technology, as well as Ancody's innovative breakthroughs in virtual reality and optical imaging, have become important factors for investors.
The A round of financing of up to 40 million yuan has been injected into the company, giving Ancodi the ability to further expand the size of the team and improve its R&D facilities and production capacity.
With this funding, Ancody began to work on expanding its R&D team. Together, Brady and Wang decided to recruit top engineers and technical experts from around the world to focus on improving existing product technology and developing new products. At the same time, Ancodi has also strengthened cooperation with many top universities and scientific research institutions at home and abroad, with the help of these institutions' leading technology in the field of optics to enhance the company's product competitiveness.
In 2019, Ancody launched a series of new products, especially in the field of security cameras and optical components. Ancodi's "Mantis Series" security cameras have quickly gained market recognition for their 100 million-level pixel arrays, excellent low-light shooting capabilities, and precise edge clarity performance. Especially in urban surveillance, intelligent traffic management, and security projects in large public places, Ancodi's cameras perform well.
At the same time, China's optical components industry also ushered in explosive growth in 2019. This year, the operating income of the entire industry reached an astonishing 150 billion yuan. This is no accident, as the demand for high-performance optical components continues to increase with the rapid development of industries such as smartphones, digital cameras, drones, and virtual reality. Ankodi Technology is just standing on the cusp of this industry, and their optical component products are in line with this market trend.
Under the leadership of Wang Huidong, Ankodi quickly seized the domestic optical components market in China. He enhances the company's brand awareness by integrating supply chain resources, expanding production scale, and actively participating in industry exhibitions and technical forums. According to market data, in 2019, the number of companies engaged in optical lenses, lens modules, optical materials, optical lenses, microscopes, telescopes and other related products in China surged from hundreds a few years ago to more than 3,000.
The future of smart security cameras
In 2020, after several years of R&D and technology accumulation, Davy· Brady and Wang Huidong finally successfully launched a 100-million-level pixel array smart security camera and achieved large-scale mass production.
After mass production, Ankodi Technology quickly promoted this smart security camera to many important cities in China. Jiangsu, Hebei, Shanghai and Beijing have taken the lead in introducing this new technology for the upgrading of urban security systems. Especially in large public places, traffic arteries and around critical infrastructure, the camera is able to demonstrate its excellent surveillance capabilities. Thanks to 100 million pixel array technology, surveillance cameras can not only cover a wider area, but also surpass previous surveillance equipment in detail capture, and even provide clear images in extreme weather or low-light environments.
This smart security camera has built-in advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, which can automatically identify and analyze people and vehicles in the surveillance screen to achieve real-time abnormal behavior detection. For example, in traffic management, cameras can automatically recognize license plates, determine speed, and even identify whether a vehicle is violating traffic rules. In large public places, such as stations, airports, etc., this smart security camera can issue security alerts in a timely manner through seamless connection with the back-end system, providing important decision-making support for public security and security personnel.
The "Mantis series" intelligent security products launched by Ankodi Technology combine cutting-edge image processing technology and AI algorithms, making this series of products quickly occupy a leading position in the industry. Through the connection with the city data platform, these devices can provide functions such as intelligent analysis, real-time monitoring, and data mining, providing indispensable technical support for the construction of smart cities.
At the same time, Ankodi Technology is also actively expanding overseas markets, and many international security companies and public sectors have shown great interest in 100-million-pixel smart cameras. Brady and Wang began organizing teams to participate in international science and technology exhibitions and industry conferences to showcase their latest products and technological achievements.
The R&D team led by Brady began to explore the development direction of the next generation of intelligent security products, and strive to further improve the imaging accuracy and intelligent analysis capabilities on the basis of the existing 100-million-level pixel array technology. At the same time, Wang Huidong actively expands cooperation channels and has established strategic cooperative relations with more domestic and foreign enterprises and government agencies to ensure that Ankodi can continue to maintain a rapid growth trend in the next few years.
References:[1]Zhang Wanxu. Research on the practice of intelligent security in the context of smart campus of Internet of Things[J].Information Systems Engineering,2024(5):100-103.)